Portable appliance for delineating a playing field for the game of hopscotch



June 9, 1964 A. B. STOKES 5 PORTABLE APPLIANCE FOR DELINEATING A PLAYING FIELD FOR THE GAME OF HOPSCOTCH Filed June 20, 1961 INVENTOR. Agnes 5. S/alres 6 ATTGHNEY United States Patetit O 3,136,545 PORTABLE APPLIANCE FOR DELINEATING A PLAYING FIELD FGR THE GAME F HOP- SCOTCH Agnes B. Stokes, 315 John Thomas St., Alexandria, La.

Filed June 20, 1961, Ser. No. 118,337 7 Claims. (Cl. 2731) This invention relates to a portable appliance for delineating a playing field, and more particularly the playing field for the game of hopscotch, the appliance being readily foldable and collapsible to a minimum space and readily unfoldable and extendible to delineate a playing field by placing it over a flat horizontal area.

A further object of this invention is to provide an appliance consisting of a plurality of elongate members pivoted together and to each other in such manner that when unfolded and placed on a horizontal surface, they can delineate the particular playing field intended, and when folded and collapsed, the applicance will occupy an area no greater than the width of a single elongate member and a length substantially less than the length of the unfolded appliance.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the playing field delineator of this invention in playing field position, with one game piece located therewithin.

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but in completely folded position.

FIG. 3 is a side edge view of FIG. 1.

There is shown at the playing field delineator of this invention in playing field delineating position, and there is shown at 12 the same playing field delineator in completely folded or collapsed position for easy storage or transportation.

The delineator of this invention is shown particularly for delineating a playing field for playing the conventional game of hopscotch, wherein eight playing rectangles are provided, as shown. For this form of playing field, this delineator is made up of twenty-one elongate members assembled and pivoted together to provide the eight rectangles for the game. These twenty-one pieces include four transverse elongate members of identical size shown at 14, 16, 18 and 20, thesebeing the longest pieces and determine the maximum width of the playing field.

There are three transverse elongate members approximately half the length of the longest elongate members, the three elongate members 22, 24 and 26, determining the width of the individual rectangles. Then, there are fourteen vertically extending elongate members at 28 to 52 inclusive, all of identical size, which determine the length of the individual rectangles.

As shown, all the elongate members are preferably of flat sheet material, rectangular in outline, but obviously, may be of other shapes so long as they are elongate and bear the same elongate proportions to each other approximately as described.

The playing field of the game of hopscotch is as shown and consists of a ladder-like arrangement of three rec tangles long and one rectangle in width, at the top of which there is provided an area one rectangle long and two rectangles in width connected by a rectangle one rectangle one rectangle long and one rectangle in width to another large rectangle, also two rectangles in width, and these rectangles are provided by the elongate members being pivotally secured together. The long elongate members, 14 to inclusive, with their dividing and end vertical elongate members provide the large rectangles that are two small rectangles in width, the large rectangles being divided into these two small rectangles by the at the bottom of the lower elongate member and the top 'of the next successive member, with the transverse members 24 and 26 being pivoted intermediate the ends of the vertical members. The bottom-most transverse elongate member 22 is pivoted to the top of the ends of the first vertical elongate members 28 and 30.

The term vertical or vertically means extending upwardly, in a horizontal plane, from the three lowermost rectangles of the ladder-like arrangement of the three single width rectangles.

As shown, these elongate members are all rectangular in shape and of identical width and are of flat sheet material, and the rectangles provided by these elongate members each have a playing indicium thereon identifying the rectangles by number, the playing indicium being placed on one of the side elongate members of each rectangle, in this case, shown ashaving the numerals 1 to 8 inclusive in successive order going vertically up from the bottom of the ladder of the single width rectangles and transversely from right to left of the double width rectangles. Thus, rectangles l, 2 and 3 provide the bottom of the ladder-like arrangement; next follows the double width rectangle providing the rectangles 4 and 5, the elongated members 36 and 38 being pivotally secured at their upper ends on the top ofthe transverse maximum length elongate member 14 intermediate the pivot points 56 of the dividing vertically extending elongate member 42. Rectangle 6 is provided by two elongate members:

the game'of hopscotch, as illustrated in FIGS. l and 3,1

and may be readily collapsed to a position having a width equal to the maximum width of the individual elongate members, which is preferably identical, and having a length substantially less than the length of the playing field, as shown in FIG. 2, compared to FIGS. 1 and 3. In addition to the playing field, the game of hopscotch requires the use of playing pieces which are tossed into successive rectangles by each individual player, who must then hop over the rectangle boundary members to the rectangle in which the playing piece has been tossed, pick it up, and then return back to the bottom end of the pla ing field, the playing of which is conventional and well known.

Preferably, a playing piece for each expected number of players is provided, usually about four, and the playing piece as shown at 60 is preferably made diamond or square shaped, of a heavy plastic high-impact material, so that it is suitable for the purpose. Obviously, while only one playing piece 60 need be provided, each outfit should contain at least four playing pieces for a minimum of four players, and may preferably be of different colors so that each player may identify his own playing piece.

In operation, when the game is to be played, it is stretched out or unfolded to provide the rectangles as shown, and layed on any flat surface in the home, or out of doors, that is long enough to receive the delineator of this game and have the additional length necessary on the sides and ends thereof.

' When the portable delineator of this invention is to be stored or transported, it may be collapsed to the position shown in FIG. 2, by merely pivoting the elongate members into the same plane about their pivots 56, causing them to assume the position shown in FIG. 2, wherein thewidth of the folded delineator is equal to the width of one elongate member and its length is considerably less than the playing position length.

Although the elongate members have been shown as of flat sheet material, they obviously can be of any suitable shape, they could be rods that are square or rectangular or at least flat on their top and bottom surfaces, but considerably narrower than shown, so long as they are of sufficient strength and, in addition to being of metal and wood, could be of high-impact plastic material and, of course, can be suitably colored or vari-colored, as desired. Although the pivots 56 are shown as being headed rivets in order to be more readily visible and apparent on the drawing, they obviously can be completely countersunk at both ends, in which case, they would be completely invisible in the views shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Although this invention has been describe in considerable detajl, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

' Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. A portable appliance for delineating a playing field comprising a plurality of elongate members of appropriate lengths foldably pivoted together, each of said members being pivotally secured at its ends to two others of said members, the longest of said members additionally having others of said members pivoted thereto at points intermediate the ends of said longest members, there being four of said longest members provided in two pairs, said pairs being secured to each other by two members pivoted at each of their ends to points on the adjacent members of each pair, said latter points being located intermediate the mid-points and ends of said longest members.

2. The portable playing field delineating appliance of claim 1, two of the additional members being pivoted at their ends to points intermediate the mid-point and ends of a third member of said longest members.

3. The portable playing field delineating appliance of claim 2, the members of each of said two pairs being pivotally connected at their midpoints to the ends of a member extending therebetween.

4. The portable playing field delineating appliance of claim 3, each of the remaining members being pivoted only at their ends to the ends of two other of said members.

5. A portable appliance for delineating a playing field for the game of hopscotch, comprising a plurality of elongate members, there being a total of twenty-one elongate members, the playing field being siX rectangles in length and a maximum of two rectangles in width, there being two set of rectangles that are two rectangles in width connected together by one rectangle therebetween and there being three rectangles depending in ladder-like form from one long side of one of said two rectangle widths, each of said rectangle delineating elongate members being pivotally secured at its ends to an adjacent elongate member, said two rectangle width delineating elongate 1 members having other elongate members pivoted thereto at points intermediate their ends, said elongate members being foldably pivotal between playing field delineating position and folded storage position wherein some of said elongate members overlap other of said members.

6. A portable playing field delineator comprising a plurality of substantially rigid elongate members pivotally and foldably secured together and delineating a plurality of joined but individual rectangular areas when unfolded and placed on a fiat horizontal area, said elongate members being of flat sheet material rectangular in outline, viewable game indicia on said flat sheet material, said delineator when folded having a width equal to the width of said elongate members, and a length substantially less than the length of the delineator in playing field delineating position.

7. A collapsible hopscotch game field adapted to be placed on a fiat horizontal surface comprising pairs of laterally spaced, longitudinally disposed side strips, longitudinally spaced, transversely disposed strips interconnected to the pairs of side strips, and longitudinally disposed strips interconnected between some of the transversely disposed strips, the connections between the strips of the game field comprising pivot connections for permitting the game field to be folded between an open condition defining playing areas between the strips and a collapsed compact condition.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 163,957 Meyer June 12, 1950 314,438 Dennis Mar. 24, 1885 2,017,536 Hase et a1 Oct. 15, 1935 2,891,793 Mudry Jan. 23, 1959 

7. A COLLAPSIBLE HOPSCOTCH GAME FIELD ADAPTED TO BE PLACED ON A FLAT HORIZONTAL SURFACE COMPRISING PAIRS OF LATERALLY SPACED, LONGITUDINALLY DISPOSED SIDE STRIPS, LONGITUDINALLY SPACED, TRANSVERSELY DISPOSED STRIPS INTERCONNECTED TO THE PAIRS OF SIDE STRIPS, AND LONGITUDINALLY DISPOSED STRIPS INTERCONNECTED BETWEEN SOME OF THE TRANSVERSELY DISPOSED STRIPS, THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE STRIPS OF THE GAME FIELD COMPRISING PIVOT CONNECTIONS FOR PERMITTING THE GAME FIELD TO BE FOLDED BETWEEN AN OPEN CONDITION DEFINING PLAYING AREAS BETWEEN THE STRIPS AND A COLLAPSED COMPACT CONDITION. 